International audienceA high-resolution sedimentological and geochemical study of a high-altitude proglacial lake (Lake Blanc, Aiguilles Rouges, 2352m a.s.l.) revealed 195 turbidites, 190 of which are related to flood events over the last 1400 years. We used the coarsest sediment fraction of each turbidite as a proxy for the intensity of each flood event. Because most flood events at this locality are triggered by localized summer convective precipitation events, the reconstructed sedimentary record reveals changes in the frequency and intensity of such events over the last millennium. Comparisons with other temperature, palaeohydrological and glacier reconstructions in the region suggest that the most intense events occurred during the warmest periods, i.e. during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (AD 800-1300) and the current period of global warming. On a multi-decadal time scale, almost all the flood frequency peaks seem to correspond to warmer periods, whereas multi-centennial variations in flood frequency appear to follow the regional precipitation pattern. Consequently, this new Alpine flood record provides further evidence of a link between climate warming and an increase in the frequency and intensity of flooding on a multidecadal time scale, whereas the centennial variability in flood frequencies is related to regional precipitation patterns

International audienceWe review the scientific efforts over the last decades to reconstruct erosion from continuous alpine lake sediment records. We focused both on methodological issues, showing the growing importance of non-destructive high resolution approaches (XRF core-scanner) as well as progresses in the understanding of processes leading to the creation of an “erosion signal” in lakes. We distinguish “continuous records” from “event-records”. Both provide complementary information but need to be studied with different approaches. Continuous regionally-relevant records proved to be particularly pertinent to document regional erosion patterns throughout the Holocene, in particular applying the source to sink approach. Event-based approaches demonstrated and took advantage of the strong non-linearity of sediment transport in high altitude catchment areas. This led to flood frequency and intensity reconstructions, highlighting the influence of climate change upon flood dynamics in the mountain.The combination of different record types, both in terms of location (high vs. low elevation), sedimentology (high vs. low terrigenous contribution) and significance (local vs. regional) is one of the main outputs of this paper. It allows the establishment of comprehensive histories of NW French Alps erosion, but also and consequently, soil dynamics and hydrological patterns throughout the Holocene. We also discuss the influence of glacier dynamics, one of the major agents of erosion in the Alps.A major feature is the growing human influence upon erosion at a local scale since at least the middle of the Bronze Age (3500 cal. BP). However and according to the regional record from Lake Bourget, only few periods of rising erosion at local scales generated a regional record that can be discriminated from wetter climatic periods. Among them, the period between 200 BCE and 400 AD appeared to be marked by a generalised rise in human-triggered erosion at local scales in the northern French Alps.This review highlights the importance of modern high-resolution and interdisciplinary studies of lake sediments, in order to better understand the complex relationships between humans, climate and the Earth system in general. We strongly argue that regional integration of data is now required to move a step further. Such an integration is easier with cost- and time-effective methods as well as after a better definition of approaches and their limits. This should lead to a stronger collaboration between paleo-data producers and modellers in the near future

Abstract. While considerable insights on the ecological consequences of climate change have been gained from studies conducted on remote lakes, little has been done on lakes under direct human exposure. Ecosystem vulnerability and responses to climate warming might yet largely depend on the ecological state and thus on local anthropogenic pressures. We tested this hypothesis through a paleolimnological approach on three temperate large lakes submitted to rather similar climate warming but varying intensities of analogous local forcings (changes in nutrient inputs and fisheries management practices). Changes in the structure of the cladoceran community were considered as revealing for alterations, over the time, of the pelagic food web. Trajectories of the cladoceran communities were compared among the three study lakes (Lakes Geneva, Bourget, and Annecy) over the last 70-150 years. Generalized additive models were used to develop a hierarchical understanding of the respective roles of local stressors and climate warming in structuring cladoceran communities. The cladoceran communities were not equally affected by climate warming between lakes. In Lake Annecy, which is the most nutrient-limited, the cladoceran community was essentially controlled by local stressors, with very limited impact of climate. In contrast, the more nutrient-loaded Lakes Geneva and Bourget were more sensitive to climate warming, although the magnitude of their responses and the pathways under which climate warming affected the communities varied between the two lakes. Finally, our results demonstrated that lake vulnerability and responses to climate warming are modulated by lake trophic status but can also be altered by fisheries management practices through changes in fish predation pressure.